Where to Get Burgers, Pasta, Dumplings, and More in Pasadena

Whether you want to dress up or dress down, Union works for any occasion. Grab a table in the unpretentious dining room for deeply satisfying plates of Northern Italian cuisine. The menu ranges from sophisticated concoctions like squid ink lumache with lobster and truffle butter to more straightforward fare like spaghetti and meatballs. The wine list spans the same Northern Italian regions, and desserts lean more seasonal, but the olive oil cake is a reliable fan favorite. 

Visit Perle for understated elegance and a menu of classic French bistro fare, with hints of Asian and Armenian flavors. Chef Dean Yasharian (formerly of the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, and the two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in New York City) serves up steak frites and duck a l’orange with the best of them, with a few twists (said duck, for example, is glazed in orange jus with dashes of soy and oyster sauces, accompanied by Chinese broccoli, and garnished with daikon radish). Wine director Lisa Witkowski goes heavy on French and California bottles, along with a selection of specialty teas.

The family behind the modern Mexican restaurant started with a single location in Downtown Los Angeles in 2009 and has grown exponentially since. The Pasadena location is a favorite for brunch, dinner, and drinks, owing to a particularly robust collection of Tequilas and mezcals. Follow up your marg with a plate of chicken enchiladas smothered in mole Oaxaqueño, or Mexican sweet shrimp in a buttery sauce enhanced with garlic and chiles de árbol.

In a follow-up to Silver Lake’s white-hot-if-short-lived Bar Restaurant, chef Doug Rankin has shifted his focus to Pasadena’s Old Town. Chelou may be French for ‘bizarre,’ but the vibe here is decidedly welcoming. The concept is simple—a French bistro with Basque influence—and the execution is often delightfully freewheeling. Drop in for a plate of burrata toast and a glass of white wine from the Loire Valley. Or maybe the scallop tartare with green garlic, Meyer lemon, and Serrano ham is calling your name; along with some Merguez sausage with a surprising and vibrant combination of English pea tabbouleh, toum, and feta.   More information here.

From the hearty, approachable fare and friendly staff, to the homey interior buzzing with locals and families, Agnes is exactly the sort of restaurant every neighborhood hopes for. Run by a husband-and-wife team with Midwestern roots and serious culinary cred, the menu offers “fancy comfort food” like cornbread eclairs, beet carpaccio, and spaghetti with clams. Don’t miss owner Vanessa Tilaka’s cheesery, a grab-and-go market stocked with all sorts of goodies. 

While Marina is most definitely an Italian restaurant—there are plenty of hearty pastas and pizzas tailored to any mood—it’s far more than your everyday red sauce joint. Look for grilled ocean trout with harissa and glazed black cod with quinoa on the dinner menu, and a three-course prix fixe for lunch that includes everything from stuffed zucchini flowers to a fried chicken sandwich (plus plenty of the aforementioned pizzas and pastas). Either way, grab a glass from sommelier Nader Kaiser’s deep, globe-spanning wine list while you’re there. 

Pasadena acts as a sort of gateway between Los Angeles to the west and the San Gabriel Valley to the east—a region home to some of the best Chinese cuisine outside of China. Case in point: Lunasia, a local dim sum chain that has a location right in the heart of Old Town Pasadena. You won’t find carts rolling around the dining room (instead, order from the menu), but you will find juicy scallop dumplings, decadent truffle siu mai, and egg custard tarts at this always-packed outpost. More information here.

Fans of mezcal, rejoice! This upscale, rustic-chic Mexican restaurant serves the smoky agave spirit from a variety of producers, and in several permutations (straight or in cocktail form). The La Coqueta blends mezcal with an herbaceous tomatillo cilantro shrub, while the La Morita leans sweeter with honey, lime, and chile oil. Dinner-wise, look for traditional dishes made modern, like a citrus-marinated skirt steak with chimichurri and braised bone-in lamb shank with roasted chili sauce. Don’t miss the tres leches carrot cake for dessert.

Since chef Peter Lai took over the kitchen at Colette in late 2022, he’s transformed the restaurant into one of the most exciting places for Cantonese cuisine in the country. In addition to dim sum staples like pork xiao long bao and shrimp har gao, Lai is serving up inventive plates like black truffle beef fried rice, mushroom and salted egg yolk sticky rice in a lotus leaf wrap, and chayote with minced pork. Lai is the former chef at Hong Kong’s famed Peninsula Hotel, and his kitchen staff hails from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. It’s a bold new vision for Cantonese cuisine, but never forgets to be delicious as well. More information here. 

Provence natives and business partners Jean-Christophe Febbrari and Mathias Wakrat, who ran Cafe Beaujolais in Eagle Rock for years, have teamed up again for this Francophile’s dream in Old Town Pasadena. The name translates to “between us,” and the menu is heavy on French classics such as escargot, Brie en croute, steak au poivre, duck confit, and the like. The wine list offers the usual French varieties, with a few California varietals for good measure.

As the name suggests, The Raymond harkens back to the year Pasadena was incorporated and the grandeur of days past—a famous hotel on this site was host to the glitterati of the day. The quaint caretaker’s cottage is all that remains, and it has become a local favorite for an upscale night out or fancy brunch. Request a seat on the garden patio (or, on chillier nights, next to the roaring fireplace) and dine on a ribeye steak with fingerling potatoes and duxelles Bordelaise sauce, or a Mediterranean-leaning sea bass with lentils in a tomato-fennel sauce. Or, grab a seat at the bar for just desserts, like pot du crème and a glass of red. More information here. 

Southern California is a burger lover’s mecca. After all, it was right here in Pasadena here that the cheeseburger was allegedly invented, and where the smash burger craze continues. Pie ‘n Burger may not serve up the latest trends, but it’s become a legend in its own right. You’ll routinely find lines out the door with customers who have loved the joint since it opened in 1963. Of course, you can order a burger (try the Big Ben), but you’ll also find a patty melt, chicken pot pie, omelets, and other classic diner fare. One non-negotiable: a thick wedge of apple pie before you go. More information here.

Oren Peleg is a journalist and screenwriter. He currently contributes to Eater LA, Los Angeles, The Infatuation, and hosts the Not Billable podcast. You can follow him here. While you’re at it, follow Resy, too.